Stealing Plots

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! I hope you all had a fantastic week and are looking forward to the long weekend. Perhaps you want to use that time to craft new book ideas. Well, you've come to the right place! Today, I'm going over how you can steal plots from real life to craft novels. Intrigued? Then grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

If you remember the posts I did on plot ideas (part one and part two), you'll know I'm a huge advocate of using things you see/read/hear to inspire you. Well, let's look at life for some inspiration and see exactly how that works.

Situation one: You're sitting, watching the news, and a story comes on about terrorists on a train and three heroes who leap in and save the day (anyone remember this?). That's an awesome story, right? Those men have been talked about often since that day.

Situation two: Friend one calls you, sobbing. Her husband was part of the Ashley Madison scandal, and your friend has discovered he's had multiple affairs. Her life is ruined, and she tells you all the warning signs she saw but ignored as you try to make her feel better.

Let's break down and re-work both situations for awesome plot ideas, shall we?

Situation one: What if the terrorists were vampires and the heroes were slayers? Or, what if they were all women instead of men? What would've happened if it were some kind of plot to get rid of a different terrorist who was planning to bomb the train, and the men sent to stop it were thwarted by the "heroes" who thought they were doing something good?

Situation two: What if the husband wasn't cheating, but he'd been doing some kind of recon mission for the CIA or some secret organization? All the "warning" signs weren't what they seemed, but the wife has no way of knowing because she doesn't know he's a spy/assassin. That's a whole different story.

It's not the situation that matters; it's the details you want to store away in your brain for the book you can write with these ideas that are important.

What caused those men to react? What were they thinking? What did they see?

What were those "warning" signs your friend is talking about? How did her husband act? What excuses did he use to get out of the house and meet up with those women?

All these questions can be answered by watching interviews or asking questions. Be the sleuth. Be creative. Bend the world to fit the story you want to read, and write it.

Whether you're a paranormal, contemporary, fantasy, dystopian, contemporary, murder mystery, or other genre author, you can make your story and characters feel more real to your reader when you use real-life situations as the basis.

So, this weekend, my challenge to you is to take something you see on television or hear on the news and turn it into a plot for a novel in your genre.

Post them below! Let's see how creative you can be!

Well, that's all for today, folks. Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Story Designs

Happy Tuesday! Wow. We're into day two of the week and already it looks like it's gonna be five days that feel longer than they should be. But, as always, we must continue to press on. Today's post may lighten your mood a bit. I'm discussing plots. That's right, those timeless things we all have to consider when beginning to craft our novels. NaNoWriMo is right around the corner, and I know we're all gearing up to take part in the most fabulous writerly collective to ever happen. Maybe this post will spark some ideas for you. So, grab those pens and pencils and let's get going!

There are several structures you'll see used in novels. I'm gonna go over the most common ones.

1. The Boy She Can't Have - A female meets a male, and something is keeping them apart. We read on to the end to find out if they can ever resolve the obstacle and end up together. Many variations of this have happened, and there could be more than one thing the two need to overcome before they can be together. A sub-plot often includes another male the female may have an interest in, and she ends up having to choose. As an aside: This can also be male meets male or female meets female (LGBT romance). It's becoming more popular, and shouldn't be overlooked.
2. Taking Down the Bad Guy - Your society has a tyrant in control and he/she must be brought to justice somehow. This can also be Taking Down the Regime.
3. All Grown Up - How the protagonist matures to find inner strength through the span of life. A twist on this could be they can't die and end up having to live more than one life. May be physical or emotional aging.
4. Oh! The Grass is Greener. . . Right? - Your protagonist dreams of a brave, new world where everything is rainbows and butterflies, and everyone thinks he/she is the best. This person is probably feeling trapped, ostracized, or enslaved. But, once they get to their salvation, they realize what they had before wasn't so terrible after all, and they long for nothing but to return to life the way it was.
5. The Cinderella Syndrome - Poor girl/guy comes to fabulous riches through some means. It can be hard work, a fairy godmother, or a stroke of luck (like a winning lottery ticket). Your protagonist must be rewarded greatly. Be sure it doesn't turn into a Grass is Greener situation.
6. Cold to Hot - When the bitter heart of another is morphed into love once again. We all like to think people can be saved (even when at their worst), so this tale is about the most terrible villain brought to love once again by the most unassuming thing. Usually works best with something you never thought could bring a baddy to his/her knees.
7. The Little Engine that Could - Someone from humble beginnings sets the world right again. Basically, you're crafting a future hero for the people. 
8. Obtaining the Unobtainable - Many people have tried, and failed. But your protagonist succeeds. Think of lost treasure or a super power/bit of knowledge others have died trying to own.

As you can see, there are many structures for novels. When you get crazy fun, you can twist the plot to look like you're taking down the bad guy, only to have the worst person not be the one in the line of fire.

I suggest letting that happen organically. If you see it coming, your reader will, too.

No matter what structure you use, be sure you're writing in the genre expected by the reader. You don't want to bill it as a romance then kill off the lover at the end, or have your heroine running for her life while being chased by a mainiacle killer the whole time. Make sense?

What's your favorite structure/plot? Are you a Boy She Can't Have fan, or do you tend more toward The Cinderella Syndrome? Inquiring minds wanna know!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Checklists for Novels - Part 3 of 3 - Scenes, Dialogue, Complexity, and Character

Happy Wednesday, good people of the blogosphere! Halfway through the week, we are. Wow, the volume of that cheer blew my hair back. Guess you're all looking forward to the three day weekend, huh? Well, I hope you all have a novel you're editing right now and can print these little checklists and make good use of them with your *ahem* time off. Today, you get checklists for scenes, dialogue, complexity (in one), and character (there are three of these). At the end, you'll find a link to a PDF you can download, print, keep, and share! All I ask is that you don't alter it in any way. Thanks! Let's get going!

Scenes

• Do your scenes ebb and flow well?
• Are the four basic happenings taking place?

1. Action - This is the objective of the scene.
2. Reaction - What the emotional state of the protagonist is.
3. More Action - What they do about it.
4. Deepening - This happens only in the most dramatic scenes.

• Do you have a great hook, intensity, and a good setup for the next scene?

Complexity

• What value are you supplying to your reader (values can be life lessons or new opinions)?
• Is there a sub-plot that could be added that would give your protagonist (or antagonist) more depth?
• How will any sub-plots assist you in changing the values of your character?

Dialogue

• Have you used a lot of he said, she said?
• Can you turn any of the dialogue tags into action tags?
• Are you using the proper dialect?
• Contractions. Do you use them?

Characters (this is broken out in the checklists)

• Full Name - First, middle, and last along with any other names they've had along the way.
• Location - Where they live, where they were born, if different, why it changed.
• Age - Includes birthday, zodiac sign, and recent celebrations.
• Physical Description - Height, weight, hair color, eye color, shoe size, skin color, manicure?, pedicure?, hair length, eyebrows (V shaped, bushy, pencil thin, etc...), identifying marks, for women: bra size.
• Mental Description - Self centered, egotistical, timid, brash, vengeful, etc...
• Reasons for Mental Description - What happened in life to make them that way.
• Friends - Other characters. Are they major? Minor? Plot changing?
• Relationships - Spouse, kids, parents - with names and nature of relationship.
• Goals - What their ultimate life goal is.
• Career - What they do or want to do.
• Skills - Any skills they may have.
• Magical Powers - For fantasy or paranormal. Can they shoot fire from their asses? Lightning bolts from their eyes? Levitate? See through peoples' clothing?
• Sexual Orientation - Straight, gay, bisexual, etc...
• Fun - What they do to let their hair down.

Here's the link to the full PDF that has tweaks and little boxes to put checks in: GIMMIE MY FREEBIE!

Enjoy and share!

Have these changed the way you look at your novels?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Checklists for Novels - Part 2 of 3 - Deepening Plot and Structure

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! And isn't it a grand day! The sun is shining and words are everywhere for the grasping. Today, I'm continuing my printable checklists and taking the plot and structure lists from yesterday a bit further. No pens and notebooks. Just bring your mouse and printer, please. Let's get going!

Deepening Plot:

• Does my protagonist have a goal?
• What is that goal and why does it matter (who cares scenario)?
• When do I introduce the doorway of no return (should be in the first 1/4 of the novel)?
• Is my antagonist evil/bad enough?
• What's the relationship between my protagonist and my antagonist?
• Is it strong enough to warrant their continued angst? Why?
• What does my protagonist believe in deeply?
• How does that change?
• Did I make the change believable?
• What opinions did I alter to garner a change of core beliefs?
• Is there a sub-plot?
• If yes, could the sub-plot stand on its own?
• What was the reason for it?
• Can I take it out and keep the suspense/action going just as well?
• When I lay my plot out, does it flow in a linear fashion?

Deepening Structure:

• The Beginning

1. Have I shown the protagonist's world in enough detail so the reader understands the rules?
2. How did I do that?
3. Is the protagonist directly involved in creating or upholding those rules?
4. How so?
5. Do I have a dynamite opening line?
6. Is my prologue necessary?
7. Action first?
8. If no, how can I rearrange the story so explanation comes later?

• The Middle

1. Is there a sense of death hanging over my protagonist's head (physical, emotional, professional, or psychological)?
2. Could my protagonist simply walk away from the conflict and lose nothing (this should be a no)?
3. Why?
4. Is there plenty of action, reaction, and more action going on?
5. Are my stakes high enough?
6. What can I (or did I) do to raise them?
7. How did I set up the final battle or show that it's coming?

• The End

1. Did I answer all the questions I brought up in my reader's mind during the tale?
2. Is my ending a knockout, that'll leave my reader breathless or scratching their head?
3. Was my ending predictable?
4. What kind of ending do I have (objective reached, objective lost, or dangling)?
5. How did I set that up?

If you can answer all these questions without a second thought, your novel is very well built. These aren't checklists for when you're starting to write. They're for the final product. It'll help you spot holes you need to fill.

Remember, feel free to print these out or save them as you wish. If you want to share them, I'll be putting up a PDF tomorrow of all six together. All I ask is that you don't alter them in any way if you redistribute on your own site.

Tomorrow, a checklist for scenes, dialogue, and complexity and one on character. Be sure and come on back for those!

Are these lists something you've done in the past; or, is this all new to you?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Checklists for Novels - Part 1 of 3 - Plot and Structure

Happy Monday, good people of the blogosphere! I hope you all had a great weekend and are looking forward to the week ahead. On an awesome note, I managed to land exhibitor space at UtopYAcon 2014 and will be sharing a table with a writer I greatly admire, Ms. Tia Silverthorne Bach. I'll pass on more news to you about this awesomeness as it becomes available. For the next few days, I'm giving you all checklists you can run down and tick items off of that'll help you with the construction of your novel. I'm creating images out of the lists so you can save them and print them out. Today will be plot and structure. No pens and notebooks needed; just bring your printer and mouse. **NOTE** You may save and print these as you wish!** Let's get going!

Plot:

• Critical Elements - Do you know what they are?
• Strong Lead - Is your protagonist deeply layered?
• LOTE - Do you have the following: Lead, Objective, Trouble, and Enticing Ending?
• Identification - Can readers identify with your protagonist in one of these ways: Sympathy, Likeability, Inner-Conflict, or Power?
• Objective - Is it strong and will people care? Ask yourself, "So what?" It must be something the protagonist must have to live a happy life.
• Ending - Does it make your reader feel satisfied that all loose ends were tied up?

Structure (3 Act):

• Beginning - Does it introduce your protagonist and the world they live in? Have you had the reader shake hands with the antagonist? Is the threat eminent? Has your character passed through the doorway of no return?
• Middle - Have you deepened the relationships and character of the protagonist? What will the antagonist do to make life more complicated? This is where the action happens. Do battles rage? Have you set everything up for the final bang? Is there a revelation?
• End - Have you wrapped everything up? Was the final battle full of enough tension? Do readers believe the ending could've happened?

Tomorrow's checklists will go into elements of the plot and structure.

Make sure you come on back for that!

Do you use any kind of checklists once your novel is done?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo